Apparatus for spraying textiles



y 9 G. HULSE EIAL $845,042

APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING TEXTILES Filed Nov 2, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor: mege y m My. 1,1

I wAztorneys G. HULSE ET AL APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING TEXTILES July 29, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 2, 1953 Inve tors July 29, 1958 e. HULSE r-rrm.

APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING TEXTILES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 2, 1953 July 29, 1958 s. HULSE ETAL A2PARATUS FOR SPRAYING TEXTILES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 2, 1953 Invehtors W rm..." y

United States APPARATUS FOR SPRAYING TEXTILES Graham Hulse, Ickenham, England, and Herbert Alfred Vodden, Ruabon, Wales, assignors to Monsanto Chemicals Limited, London,England, a British company Application November 2, 1953, Serial No. 389,772

I Claims priority, application Great Britain v November 11, 1952 2 Claims. (Cl. 118-300) ploy pressures of the order of 40 to 70 lbs. per square inch to atomize the liquid and obtain fine droplets suitable for the particular treatment concerned. Thus liquid can be forced under pressure through narrow orifices or jets to provide a fine spray, or alternatively the spray can be produced by dispersing a jet of liquid .with air under pressure. These methods of forming the spray have, however, disadvantages where the violent spray produced or the forced draught involved is likely to cause disturbance of the form of the fibers to be treated, for

instance, when the fibers are in the form of a carded web.

In recent years processes for treating textile materials with silica sols, examples of which are those described in British specifications No. 607,696, 626,847 and 654,858 have become widely adopted, and one of the most satisfactory ways in which the silica sol can be brought on to the material in an efilcient manner is to apply it in the form of a fine spray. However, when silica sols are applied by means of spraying equipment in which the liquid is passed through narrow orifices or jets, there is liable to be constant trouble because of the blocking of these constrictions with silica deposited from the sol. This necessitates frequent cleaning and possibly dismantling of the spray equipment; moreover, a continuous watch has to be maintained to ensure that the spray is working properly.

It has furthermore been found to be an especially difficult technical problem to apply silica sols in the particular instance of treating cotton fibers prior to spinning them into yarn. In this instance considerable difficulty has been encountered in bringing about an adequate distribution of the silica over the fibers, and the method of applying the silica sol is evidently of prime importance in obtaining the best results.

The present invention is concerned with a new and simple method of spraying textile materials with silica sols and other liquids which has been found to be very eificient and to avoid the difliculties referred to above. It utilizes equipment which is simple in design and strong in construction. silica sols to cotton fibers prior to spinning.

According to the invention the liquid is taken up on a rotating wheel, cylinder or analogous device and spun off by centrifugal force in the form of a fine spray which is directed on to the textile material to be treated.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of several embodiments thereof in conjunction with the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in plan of spraying equipment de- It is also of marked value for applying atent ice signed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a view in vertical section taken on the line A-A of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view partially in elevation and partially in vertical section taken on the line B--B of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view in elevation of another type of spraying equipment designed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a view in plan of the equipment shown in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a half sectional front elevation taken on the A-A of Figure 5; and

Figure '7 is a sectional side elevation taken on the line B-B of Figure 5.

Referring now to Figures l-3, inclusive, it will be seen I that four smooth discs 10 are mounted in a covered box 11 fixed concentrically to a horizontal shaft 12 which is mounted in bearings (the housings of which are not shown). The discs are mounted to rotate with their sides perpendicular to the axis of the shaft, the width of the discs being /2 inch, their diameter 2 inches and the distance between neighboring discs 2 inches. The discs 10 are immersed to a depth of A inch in a pool 13 of liquid contained by the box. The box 11 has a separate outer compartment 14 divided off from the inner compartment 15 containing the discs by a wall 16 at the foot of which there is a gap 17 through which liquid can flow from the outer compartment 14 to maintain the level of the pool in the inner compartment 15. The outer compartment 1 4 is equipped with a constant levelling device allowing entry of further liquid from a reservoir 18 contained in an inverted bottle 19 held in a guide 20. The .neck of the bottle rests upon a horizontal plate 21 and over a hole 22 in the plate through which liquid is fed from the reservoir 18 to the outer compartment 14. A perforated-cap 23 on the bottle ensures that neither air nor liquid can pass between the rim of the bottle and the plate, and guides the plunger 24 with rubber disc 25 which prevents liquid in the bottle escaping when the bottle is taken out for refilling or inverted when full. The level of the pool of liquid in the inner and outer compartments can be changed by raising or lowering the plate 21 using the thumb screws 26.

The side 27 of the box, parallel with the shaft 12 and at a distance 4 inches from its axis of rotation, is provided with a horizontal opening 28. Parallel with the side 27 and at a distance about 3 inches from the axis of the shaft 12, a vertical wall 29 has its top on the same -28-the compartment 30 is raised or lowered by turning the thumb screws 32. Gaps (not shown) permit passage of liquid from the movable compartment 30 and the space below it to the pool 13. The drip tray 33 is also con- ,nected with the pool 13in order that liquid in it may drain back to the pool.

A vertical baflle 34 descending from. the roof of the box is aligned parallel with the shaft 12 and has its lower edge 1 inch above the top of the discs 10 and vertically over the edges of the discs nearest to the aperture.

In use, the shaft 12 is rotated by a suitable motor attachment at high speed. When the liquid to be sprayed is a mobile one, for example water, or a silica sol solution, a suitable speed is 6,000 revolutions per minute. The direction of rotation is such that liquid taken up and flung from the top of the discs 10 proceeds through the aperture 28 in the form of spray.

In the arrangement of Figures 4 t0 7 inclusive, four smooth discs 33 are mounted in a covered box 34 fixed concentrically upon a horizontal shaft which is mounted for rotation in bearings 36; the sides of the discs are perpendicular to the axis of the shaft, and the width of the discs is /2 inch, their diameter 2 inches, and the distance between neighboring discs 2 inches. Each disc is a combination of two annuli placed upon the shaftthe discs are kept in position on and fixed relative to the shaft by cylindrical packing pieces 37.

The box 34 has a false bottom 38 which curves upwards on either side of the shaft 35. The wall 39 of the box, parallel with the shaft 35 and at a distance 4 inches from its axis of rotation, is provided with an opening at 40. Attached to the wall 39 above and on the inside of the opening 40 is an angled baffle plate 41. This bafile plate has a vertical portion with teeth 42 in front of the gaps between the discs 33, and reentrants 43 situated in the planes of rotation of the discs, see Figure 6. A vertical baffie 44 hanges from the roof of the box 34 parallel with the shaft 35, above the tops of the discs and vertically over the edges of the discs nearest to the opening 40. A movable plate 45 is attached to an axle 46 just inside and below the opening 40, and can be raised by lifting a spring and ball loaded external handle 47, in order to reduce the width of the free path between the discs and the opening 40, and thus reduce the effective size of the opening 40. A trap 43 is attached to the outside of the wall 39 below the opening 40 and the top of the wall 39 below the opening 4-3 has slots 49 through which the trap can be drained into the interior of the box 34.

()n the outside of the wall 39 is mounted a catchpot 50 which can be rotated on an axle 51. Figures 4, 5 and 7 show the catchpot in the down position, in which it covers the opening 40, while in Figure 6 the catchpot is in the up position, leaving the opening 49 uncovered. Liquid in the catchpot when in the down position is discharged by a pipe 52 which also serves as a handle for the catchpot. Conical hoods 53 prevent splash penetrating to the bearings 36. The liquid supply pipe 54 leads from a glass siphon meter 55 and is open to the air at 56. The lamp 57 serves for illumination of the glass siphon.

in operation, a suitable pump delivers at a steady rate and at atmospheric pressure from a storage tank to the siphon meter 55 the liquid to be sprayed. The siphon fills and empties periodically through the tube 54 o a pool of liquid oovering the false bottom 38 into which the discs 33 dip. The rate of feed of liquid to the pool is found by measuring the time taken for a convenient number of pulses of the siphon and using a calibration chart which has been prepared previously, and is adjusted as required by controlling the pump. The shaft 35 is rotated by a suitable motor connected to the fixed pulley 58 mounted on its end, in such a direction that liquid is picked up by the discs and is projec ed as spray, most of which impinges on the sides or roof of the box 24 and is returned to the pool, but some of which is flung tangentially from the tops of the discs through the opening 40. In starting up, the catchpot 50 is placed in the down position-the drops of spray projected through the opening 40 are at first large and the spraying rate is not constant. The trap 48 collects liquid which would otherwise leak between the catchpot 5 and the wall 39. As soon as steady running conditions have been attained the catchpot is lifted to the up position and the spray is allowed to emerge and is projected on to the material to be treated. Most of the spray emerges through the space below the reeutrants vthile spray running down the inside of the co baffle plate 4-1 is discharged from the teeth 42 so does not interfere with the outgoing spray. The td catches much extraneous splash and discharges meter; for this, the machine is run with the catchpot down, the pulsing time of the siphon recorded with a stop watch and the resulting spray rate measured by draining the catchpot into a measuring cylinder, thus enabling a calibration chart for the siphon meter to be prepared.

For spraying rates above about 2 liters per hour, the opening 40 is used at its full effective width, with the plate 45 lowered. At low rates of spraying, it is desirable to raise the plate 45 to decrease the effective width of the opening 40, as otherwise the spray becomes intermitteut.

in both illustrated forms of the invention the wheels are arranged so as to dip into a pool of the liquid to be sprayed. It will be appreciated that any convenient rotating member having the effect of a wheel or cylinder can be used, and a disc is very suitable. The surface of the rotating member may be smooth, rough or even ridged, and the exact configuration of the surface will have a marked effect on the size and quantity of spray drops provided when the member is rotating. A very suitable method of construction which can be employed is to have a number of discs mounted through their centers and perpendicular to their faces at intervals on a shaft, the length of which will depend upon the width of the textile material to be treated. It is usually preferable to mount the rotating member on a horizontal axis and to utilize that section of the liquid spray which is taken up to the top :of the rotating member and flung off tangentially in a horizontal direction, since this spray consists of the finer droplets. It is convenient to have the pool of liquid and the rotating member totally enclosed apart from an aperture through which the section of the spray to be utilized is allowed to pass, so that extraneous spray and splash are contained auddrop back into the pool of liquid. The spraying equipment will normally be fitted as part of the textile machine in which the textile material is being spun, woven or otherwise handled, so that the equipment is actually incorporated in the textile machine. The spraying operation can then be entirely automatic, needing no hand control or special attention.

The thickness of the rotating members is not important, and long cylinders can be used if desired, but it is usually convenient to use discs of /2 inch thickness when their diameter is 2 inches, and the thickness of each disc should in any case preferably be at least of an inch. The distance between wheels when more than one is used is adjusted according to the volume and density of spray required.

The depth of immersion of the rotating member in the pool of liquid may be anything up to one-quarter of its diameter, or even more. It is usually quite convenient to arrange for the depth of the rotating member below the surface of the pool to be adjusted as desired according to the amount of spray required and other variables, such as the viscosity of the liquid. This may be done either by adjusting the level of the pool or by altering the level of the shaft carrying the rotating member. The liquid may be maintained at any given level by means of a suitable constant levelling device, or the rate at which liquid is fed to the pool can itself be used to control the depth of liquid in the pool when the sprayer is in continuous operation.

Thus the rate of flow into the pool can be used to control the depth of immersion of the rotating member and hence the amount of outgoing spray. When this method is used a shallow pool of liquid is provided so that the level of liquid responds quickly to a change in the rate of flow of incoming liquid. For this purpose the bottom of the pool may be of curved form, or the rotating members partly set down into hollows. When the amount of spray required is small it is desirable to narrow the width of the aperture suitably so that the level of liquid in the shallow pool is maintained high enough by the small amount pf liquid entering and the extraneous spray and splash returned by the sides and roof of the container to provide a continuous spray. The inflow of liquid is provided by the use of any suitable device, such as a pump, by siphoning, or by tap-controlled gravity flow. When using liquids such assilica sols which tend to gel or otherwise deposit solid, it is of course important to avoid those types of levelling devices or methods of maintaining and controlling inflow of liquid to the pool which incorporate a jet, orifice, or other constriction.

The speed of rotation of the rotating member necessary to give an adequate spray for the purpose required will depend upon the viscosity of the liquid to be sprayed, but speeds of from 3,000 to 10,000 revolutions per minute are generally suitable when using discs of 2 inch diameter, for instance. The lower the speed of rotation, the greater is the size of the droplets of spray obtained. As the speed of rotation increases from zero, the drops thrown off by the rotating member are first of large diameter but of low velocity and hence of short range. As the speed increases further there is a decrease of average drop size and an increase in range. Beyond a certain point, however, the range of the spray decreases as the drops become very fine and the resistance to their passage through the air becomes an important factor.

Using water or a similar mobile liquid and discs of 2 inch diameter, the greatest range of the spray is from 4 feet to 5 feet and this is achieved when the discs rotate at about 6,000 revolutions per minute. Of this range, a middle portion of about 3 /2 feet contains droplets of comparatively even distribution in size and quantity. Where a number of discs mounted at intervals on a shaft are used, they throw out slowly diverging beams of spray which overlap at a point usually beyond the aperture (or apertures, where a number of these are present), so that an even spray is obtained along the whole length of the apertures.

Improved results are obtained when a baffle is mounted above the top of the rotating member in order to prevent extraneous spray and splash from interfering with the main stream of droplets directed through the aperture. By this means excessive drop formation on the plate or wall of the container above the aperture, which would in efiect impede the outgoing spray, is avoided. The lower edge of the battle may be in the form of a narrow trough which collects liquid from the baffle and discharges it at one or more points where it cannot interfere with the beams of spray. Alternatively, where a series of discs mounted at intervals on a shaft is used, the bottom edge of the bafile may be of a continuous vertical zigzag or similar design, the lower points of which are situated above the gaps between the discs; in this way liquid draining from the battle is discharged between adjacent discs and away from the beams of spray coming from them, so that it does not interfere with the spray.

The size of the aperture through which the section of spray to be utilized is allowed to pass is made adjustable in order to control the vertical depth of spray and the total amount of outgoing liquid. The aperture may take any suitable form. Thus it can be provided by two aligned horizontal slits which fix the direction of spray, the plate above the innermost one being adapted to drain off liquid impinging upon it and discharge it at points away from the beams of spray. In this arrangement, any spray falling between the two slits runs down into a collecting zone from which the gathered liquid is conducted back to the main reservoir. A suitable depth for such slits is from A of an inch upwards. A trough placed below and on the outside of the outer slit can collect droplets which coalesce and roll down the outside, returning them to the pool.

Alternatively the upper and lower plates forming the apertures may not be in vertical alignment, the upper one being nearer to the wheels or cylinders and adapted to discharge liquid impinging upon it, either by means of a trough or by being of the zigzag or similar design mentioned above in respect of the bafile, back to the pool without impeding the outgoing spray. In this instance the depth of the aperture is conveniently adjusted by raising or lowering a small plate inside the lower plate, either by a vertical movement of the whole of the plate, or by revolution on an axle.

While the process of the invention is particularly suitable for spraying textile fibers, yarns and fabrics with liquids such as silica sols which tend to gel or deposit solids and thus to block up narrow jets or other constrictions, it can equally well be used with stable liquids.

The process is particularly suitable for applying silica sols to textile fibers, yarns and fabrics, as indicated earlier in this specification, and the textiles may be natural or synthetic, for instance of wool, cotton, silk, regenerated cellulose, cellulose acetate, or nylon, or blends of these. The process is of especial value in the treatment of textile fibers during or prior to the process of spinning. For instance it can be used to spray cotton fiber-s with silica sols immediately after bale breaking in the opening process, or at the hopper feeder, or on the scutcher lap. Using a spraying device such as one of those described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, 500 lbs. of cotton per hour can be sprayed at the hopper feeder with 1% by weight of a 15 silica sol.

The silica sol used can for example be one of those described in British specifications Nos. 607,696, 611,914, 626,847, 645,703, 649,896, 649,897, 654,850, 660,593, 662,423 or 663,013, or one obtained by diluting one of these particular colloidal solutions. It can thus be one which has been obtained by the so-called autoclave process or one obtained by the ion-exchange process. The silica sols sold under the registered trademark Syton" are very suitable, e. g. Syton W-ZO and Syton 2X, containing 15% and 30% of silica by weight respectively.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for spraying textile materials comprising a closed container adapted to contain a pool of liquid, a horizontal drive shaft mounted in said container, 'a plurality of axially spaced discs mounted on said shaft and being adapted to dip into said pool and pick up and spin olf liquid, baflle means intermediate said discs to collect extraneous spray or splash which would otherwise impede the passage of spray issuing from the discs, said container having an elongated aperture therein so positioned that spray tangent to the top edge of said discs passes through it.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 provided with a means to maintain said liquid pool at a predetermined level.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 84,483 I Earnshaw Dec. 1, 1868 506,389 Claus Oct. 10, 1893 694,106 Metcalf Feb. 25, 1902 2,278,953 Stockham Apr. 7, 1942 2,443,512 Powers June 15, 1948 2,436,169 Haberstump Feb. 17, 1948 2,516,103 Brown July 25, 1951 2,651,869 Guenst Sept. 15, 1953 2,657,095 James et a1. Oct. 27, 1953 

